Saturday, June 28, 2014

WWW, June 2014 - She's been involved
somehow with "Destiny's Child" back in the days, but since this is a
thing that is completely irrelevant for the promotion of (DUB) Reggae let's deal
with what is. After she's livicated time to be with her family, trained and
skillful singer Aysha Loren is now working with John Holt, Frankie Paul and even
Luciano while she has just released what can only be described as a true,
authentic Lovers' Rock track called "Keep it Like it Is". Yes, please
do!

Lovers' Rock is that other side of UK Reggae
which may have nothing to do with heavyweight Roots and Dubwise but is
nevertheless very much a part of the many styles the big island in front of the
European continent has provided the world with. Lovers' Rock: Smooth and silky,
yet with a tight riddim or skank section (the guitars etc) and a solid drum and
bass line. In other words: Reggae for lovers. Nothing to do with Dancehall and
it's outbursts, just niceness and a very pleasant rhythm.

Well, it's a description of Lovers' Rock and it
is a description of Aysha Loren's new single "Keep it Like it Is".
This sistren has a beautiful voice that suits the silky style of Lover's Rock
perfectly. Keep it like it is, indeed, keeping Lovers' Rock exactly like it is.
Because it is the way it should be.

The single in fact is taken from an upcoming EP
called "Back to You" and when it's representative of this EP, you can
say that UK Lovers' Rock has been given an impulse that will help making the
genre known to a wider audience, which it should. And for which we pay respect
to this sistren.

Friday, June 27, 2014

WWW, June 2014 - Just like the previous SoundWare
review, this Dubroom review of the excellent Sound System Vocals by
DubDrops (not coincidently sounding like DrumDrops) also comes with some
practical sound illustrations in the form of released Dubroom productions. So
you wondered where the recent releases featuring Horseman
and Dennis
Alcapone came from, because you're a producer/selector/whatever yourself?
Now you know, without apology.

Consider all Dubroom productions carrying the works of Horseman
and/or Dennis
Alcapone to be unofficial promo's for the Sound System Vocals series by
DubDrops. Yes, they are completely free and legal musical works representing the
current state of the Dubroom Studio and musical phase of it's engineer and can
hopefully enjoyed by those that will never read bother to read a review about
soundware because they just love (DUB) Reggae Music: the audience, the ones for
who ultimately all of we do it. But the music is also partly the result of
purchasing the series, for which we make no apology.

Quite the contrary.

So, when you're a producer, selector, or otherwise interested in
reading about the DubDrops series, you might want to check out the Dubroom's
three-part in-depth review and decide for yourself if this is something for you
as well.

Monday, June 23, 2014

WWW, June 2014 - Those who have been listening to the first Dubroom
productions in the new 2014 sound, have been recognizing very familiar elements.
At least, to those who know their (DUB) Reggae music. Yes, there were two
releases carrying horns that unmistakably came from Mad Professor's ARIWA SOUND
Studio's. So, what was the case? Yes, they were the result of a purchase of Mad
Professor's REEL 2 REEL REGGAE, a loops and sample pack that gives you enough
material to fill several albums.

Read a Dubroom review of the sample pack, download/listen to an MP3 track
with just some loops and standard echo/reverb plus a little bit of moving
sliders on the REX players which already gives a pretty decent taste of the
quality and potential of REEL TO REEL Reggae.

Friday, June 20, 2014

WWW,
June 2014 - Do not call it Dub Step, don't
even call it "Dub Steppish", and
especially not when the term sounds like a
cuss to you. Call it Roots Step, for that is
the name of the unique sound captured in no
less than twenty-four chapters of the "Rootsstep
To The World" series released by Don
Goliath from his Berlin-based studio. With
the help of elders like U Roy, Trinity and
many others, his "Rootsstep Division
Recordings" label is ready to bring the
Roots Vibration to a brand new generation.
Are we? Time for an in-depth listen and talk
with the don himself.

Dubstep. Just saying
the word can get you into a long discussion
or even debate. Every one has an opinion,
every two disagree about everything two can
possibly disagree over. And, as with all
Dub/Reggae derivates, it can be kind of
really difficult to discover any Roots.
Dubstep. Not really something to check and
not really something to disagree over,
either. It's just not relevant.

Or
is it?

Apparently it is. We have Mad
Professor's Ariwa Sound releasing
"Roots of Dubstep", an obvious
description of (DUB) Reggae. An obvious
statement as well from someone who actually
stood at the roots of UK DUB.

And
now we have "Rootsstep" music
straight from Berlin, in a rather large
quantity and consistent quality. Many
well-known vocalists have contributed, some
are so well-known that their contribution is
obviously voluntarily. We're talking names
like U Roy, Jazzbo, Kojak, Lone Ranger,
Trinity, Dillinger. They have all stood
before the microphone and voiced especially
for Don Goliath and his Rootsstep riddims.
Voicing like they have done for decades,
without any compromise in word or sound or
power.

So, what is Rootsstep? What drove
these Founding Fathers of Reggae to
contribute to Don Goliath's sound? Mind you,
these are people that you do not tell what
to do. When they do something for you, it is
the result of their decision to do so. They
really can be considered as Elders for they
are.

The best way to start is to listen
for yourself. However, it it is very
difficult to find reviews or articles about
the Don and his Rootsstep Sound. Just only
recently, the ORIGINAL DUB GATHERING Net
Label picked up some of Don Goliath's work
and a German blog wrote a review in German
but that's about it. So, chances are that
your discovery of this unique sound starts
by CLICKING
HERE (ZIP FILE) for an MP3 mix
featuring Kojak and Trinity straight from
Don Goliath's WEBSITE
or (if your browser lets you) check out the
tune below:

Yes, this is the sound of Rootsstep. It's
a sound that has all the musicological
elements of Roots Reggae while the overall
vibe has nothing out-dated or
"historical" if you will. This
could very well be described as 21st Century
Roots, Cyber Roots, or simply Conscious Contemporary
Reggae. This is more than merely a style by
a sound, this is a sound by itself. So why
not call it Rootsstep?

Listening to
the conscious message of Rastafari,
skillfully delivered by voices too familiar
to not take serious, the music instantly
drops you into today's vibes dominated by
modern digital recording and mixing
technologies. In itself, once again it is
shown how Rastafari and Consciousness in
general transcends times and places as it
contains a universal message from the
Creator Himself. Who feels it, definitely
knows it.

Unlike the Biblical giant, this
one Goliath comes with an uplifting message.
A message of righteousness and with songs of
praises to the Almighty. Just like all
conscious Reggae, that is. However, it is
the sound that is intriguing. This is a
sound that will appeal to an audience that
may not necessarily be drawn to your
Steppers Reggae or (DUB) Reggae in general.
This is a sound that seamlessly fits into
today's spectrum of electronic styles while
in the same time distinguishing itself from
the slackness and plain vanity or emptiness
"present" in too much productions
these days (including Reggae!).

Don
Goliath started releasing his new sound
through a series of albums called
"Rootsstep To The World". At this
time, in June 2014, chapter 24 is released.
You don't have to make the math to see that
something is going on here and the fact that
so little is written about it all makes you
wonder. It makes you wonder so much that you
want to find out more about Don Goliath and
his Roots Steppin' sounds.

Time to
go to the Don and ask him some thing. This:
What Is Rootsstep and how did you come
up with this unique sound?

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

WWW, June 2014 - This crucial remix of a very familiar track from the
vaults of the Taxi Label serves as a teaser for the brand new Sly and Robbie
release "Stepper Takes the Taxi". It features a little Dub mixing, a
lot of horns and of course the undeniable Sly and Robbie drum and bass line.

"Stepper" is Guillaume from Paris. When he visited Jamaica in the
1980's he established a lot of contacts which led him to opened vaults at the
archives of Sly and Robbie's very own Taxi label. The result is a set of remakes
that have a contemporary and historical vibe combined, among which "A Fist
Full Of Horns" is just an appetizer.

Monday, June 16, 2014

WWW, June 16 2014 - Yesterday was a day of
protest against the "Foreigner Internment Centers", prisons where
people are kept for being born in a certain place with a certain colour of their
skin. It's all part of the spirit of racism that haunts Europe since times of
memory. To contribute to the protest, LaFamille has released an excellent
Anti-Racist track with vocals by Yeyo Perez and music by the Bass Culture
Players.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

WWW, June 2014 - Introducing the DUB Reservoir posse: from their base in
Bruxelles (Belgium) they spread Roots and Culture vibes through radio and live
sessions and also by releasing this free compilation of DUB and other Roots
Reggae. Presenting LOST IN DUB CHAPTER ONE, with no less than seventeen tracks
of pure niceness by names like Jah Free, Dubmatix, Wicked DUB Division.

There's quite a bit of variety in the selection of Lost in Dub 1: from the
opening by Dubmatix (a Steppers with crucial horns) to the very last drop of
Duppy Dub by the Muzikal Ben (Steppers in the digital tradition) the listener is
being treated to a surprising combination of styles including meditative vibes
from Jah Free and a song of praise by Crucial Alphonso as well as heavyweight
digital steppers Dub.

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Welcome to the Dubroom Reviews Weblog, where you can find reviews of the best (DUB) Reggae Music available online. We review albums, (freely) downloadable files, DVD's, online video's and more since 1997.

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THIS IS AN OFFICIAL DUBROOM WEBLOG

The Dubroom covers a large number of topics, that may not alltogether be of interest to all visitors and readers of the Dubroom website and/or weblogs. That is why we have several weblogs, each one having their own specific field of coverage.

Dubroom Online
This is the main weblog, where all new articles and reviews are posted together with columns and more from the Webmaster, (DUB) Reggae news and views as well as news concerning the Dubroom and the rest.

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The latest Babylon Observer publications is posted along with interesting news items from other websites.

Center for Research on Christianity
News and views from the religious system we know as "Christianity", CRC items will be posted along with interesting news item from other websites.

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